True Connections
by Luke Skywalker
Summary: Dylan and Rommie encounter a ghost from the past, but the crew of this old Commonwealth ship is predjudiced toward Nietzscheans. They take Tyr prisoner and torcher him only for their enjoyment. During his experience, Tyr realizes where the true connecti
1. Chapter 1

True Connections  
By: Luke Skywalker  


"Hunt moves toward the hoop. He has to make this shot to win. His opponent stands in the way. Hunt moves right, making a pass through the legs and..." Too late, Captain Dylan Hunt realized that he no longer had possession of the basketball. Tyr, the tall Nietzschean now had the upper hand, and with one swift flick of his wrists, won the game by three points.  
Dylan smiled sarcastically. Tyr cocked his head slightly, confused by his new captain's attitude. Dylan pointed his finger at Tyr and advanced on him. Tyr's muscles tenses. "Three games in a row. You just don't give up, do you?" Dylan said. Tyr relaxed somewhat.  
"Do you?" he asked. Dylan blinked. He stood with his mouth open and his hand coming closer and closer to resting at his side. Finally he let out a long held breath.  
"No, Tyr. I don't." Tyr nodded and brought the ball to his chest.  
"Then let's go again." He tossed Dylan the ball. Dylan nodded and moved to the top of the court.  
Suddenly, a slight shock rocked the ship. Dylan swayed a little on his feet as did Tyr. The shock lasted only a second, but that was more than enough to make Dylan nervous.  
"Rommie?" he called. The holographic form of the artificial intelligence of the starship _Andromeda_ materialized in the middle of the basketball court.  
"Yes, Captain," she said, her voice reverberating with a metallic vibe.  
"Report," Dylan said. Before Rommie could speak, Beka Valentine's voice echoed in the room.  
"Dylan!" she said. She sounded confused and a little stunned.  
"What is it, Beka?" Dylan said. Tyr stood in between the hologram of Andromeda and Dylan, listening intently to the sound of Beka's voice.  
"Dylan, I think you'd better get up here."  
"I'm on my way," he said. Rommie dematerialized, not needed at the moment. Dylan put the basketball down on the floor and looked up at Tyr. "You owe me a rematch," he said. Tyr nodded.  
"Perhaps." Dylan shook his head. He and Tyr walked towards the Command Center.  
Dylan and Tyr entered the Command Center of the old Commonwealth warship _Andromeda Ascendant_, tension and confusion were everywhere. Beka approached Dylan.  
"Report, Beka," Dylan said.  
"There was a huge flash of white light and then the shock we all felt," she explained. "It was almost as if some very clumsy driver was coming out of slipstream." She eyed Trance. The young woman's eyes widened and she shrugged.  
"I-I...it wasn't my fault!" she exclaimed. She then pointed at Tyr. "He made me do it!"  
"That was a while ago," Dylan broke in. "It doesn't matter now." Suddenly, Rommie spoke up.  
"Dylan, I'm reading a ship out there." Dylan, Beka and Tyr moved to their stations.  
"What kind of a ship, Rommie?" Dylan asked. He then looked to Rev Bem. "What do you make of it, Rev?" The short, almost bat-looking Magog shook his head.  
"It looks like a very old model. Titanium based, primative energy core..." he said.  
"Dylan," Rommie interrupted. "It's one of ours."  
Dylan Hunt cocked an eyebrow at the A.I. "What do you mean?" he asked.  
"I mean, it's built just like me, only maybe more primitive. But it's still a ship of the Commonwealth."  
"How is that possible?" Tyr asked, looking at Dylan. "The Commonwealth was completely destroyed, fleet and all."  
"I know, I know," Dylan said. "Rommie, are you sure?"  
"Would you like to see for yourself?" she said sarcastically. Dylan smiled and nodded.  
"On screen," he said. The viewing screen switched on. Dylan leaned forward. Floating in space was definately a primative form of the _Andromeda_, but it was a Commonwealth fleet vessel alright. "Hail them," he said.  
"No response," Beka said.  
"Any life signs, Rommie?"  
"Afermative. I'm picking up two males and one female, but their lifesigns are faint."  
Dylan winced as if he was attempting to see closer. "Rommie, magnify the image." The ship got closer on the screen. Dylan's eyes widened and he caught his breath in recognition. "The _Saratoga_."  
"Excuse me, Captain?" Beka said.  
Dylan pointed his finger at the view screen. "It's the USS _Saratoga_." Beka looked around the Command Center, glancing from Rev to Trance to Tyr for a glimpse of recognition.  
"The USS _Saratoga_?" she asked again. Dylan waved her off for a second.  
"Rommie, can you confirm that it is the _Saratoga_?" Andromeda nodded.  
"Dylan, what's going on?" Beka demanded.  
"The USS _Saratoga_ was part of a huge convoy fifty years before I was caught in the black hole. She and her other ships encountered a berage of Nieztschean war ships. All but the _Saratoga_ were destroyed. She escaped and went into slip stream." Dylan paused. "She never came out of slip stream and no one heard from her again."  
A beeping sound eminated from a control station and Andromeda appeared on the A.I. view screen again. "It's confirmed, sir. That's definately the USS _Saratoga_."  
Dylan swallowed hard. Beka stared at him. Tyr looked at the old ship from the view screen.   
"But what does that mean?" Trance asked, hardly able to contain herself.  
"It means, Trance," Dylan said, "That _Andromeda_ and I aren't the only ones to survive frozen in time." He paused, considering another alternative. "And we might be able to restore the Commonwealth.  
***  
"Beka, get a docking lock between us and that ship and get those survivors to medical," Dylan said. Beka nodded, brought the _Andromeda_ along-side the _Saratoga_ and got her in the shuttle bay.  
"We are docked with the _Saratoga_," Beka reported. Dylan nodded and turned to Trance and Rev.  
"Go down to medical and tell me when the survivors can talk."  
"Aye, sir!" Trance said. She soluted him and she and Rev walked out of the Command Center. Dylan smiled and turned to Andromeda.  
"Rommie, can you identify the survivors?" he said.  
"Yes, wait just a minute...Scanning the ship...Analyzing their DNA..." Dylan paced as he waited for the result. "I have the identifications. They are Captain Kari Sandoz, Crewman Joseph Jackson, and engineer Todd Curtis."  
Dylan breathed a sign of relief. "At least Captain Sandoz is alive," he said. "She maybe able to help." Dylan leaned on one of the ramp bars. Tyr walked up to him.  
"Dylan, I think you need to rest." Dylan looked at him.  
"That doesn't sound like the Tyr I know. You, concerned?" Tyr nodded.  
"Only for my well being. I don't think that the ship is safe in the hands of a fatigued captain." Dylan shook his head.  
"Tyr, I'm fine," he said, but Beka walked up to him as well.  
"Dylan, I hate to admit it, but Tyr's right. You do look very tired. I think you should rest." Dylan sighed and stood up straight. He lifted his hands in surrender.  
"Okay, okay, I'll go. I can't oppose both of you." He turned and walked towards his quarters.  
Hours later, Dylan was staring at the history of the _Saratoga_'s disappearance which he had asked Andromeda to dig up for him.  
He was still reading when Rommie walked into the room. "Find anything?" she asked. He looked up.  
"Not much more than I already know," he said. "Thank you for getting it to me so quickly."  
"Trance wants me to tell you that Captain Sandoz is almost fully healed. She wasn't hurt badly." Dylan nodded. Rommie was walking out the door when Tyr walked in. He glanced from Rommie to Dylan.  
"Having a little social discussion?" he asked sarcastically. Rommie gave Tyr her best 'Yeah right' look.  
"Tyr, what is it?" Dylan said.  
"The captain of the _Saratoga_ wishes to speak with you," he said. Dylan nodded and walked out the door with Tyr and Rommie following close behind.  
When they walked into medical, Dylan saw Captain Sandoz walking around the room with Trance.  
"Captain Sandoz," Dylan said. She turned towards him. Her ice blue eyes were flashing with confusion and she looked so tired. Her old Commonwealth uniform was dark green and her dirty blonde hair was up in a messy twist on her head.  
"You are Captain Dylan Hunt?" she asked. Dylan nodded. "How do you know my name? I haven't spoken one word to you."  
"Captain Sandoz, do you remember anything after your ship went into slipstream?" Sandoz thought for a second. She finally shook her head.  
"No. All I remember is the ambush of Nietzschean ships who fired on my convoy. All of them were destroyed, along with my entire crew except my enineer and a crewmemeber and I. We went to slipstream and then we were here." She walked up to Dylan. "Captain Hunt, _where _is here?"  
"You are on the warship _Andromeda Ascendant_. My crew abandoned ship during a battle fifty years after you went into slipstream." Her eyes widened.  
"How is that possible?" she said. Then she saw Tyr. Her jaw tightened and she pursed her lips together, trying to control her anger. Tyr simply stood ridgid. "What is a Nietzschean doing on a Commonwealth warship?" she asked angrily.  
"The Nietzscheans and the Commonwealth are no longer at war." Dylan said quickly. She eyed Dylan suspiciously, keeping Tyr in her perefrial sight. "My crew abandoned ship 300 years ago. I was caught in the event horizon of a black hole for 300 years. Captain Valentine's crew rescued me. They were trying to take over my ship, but they soon realized that their employer didn't care about their well being and he treid to send us back into the black hole. So they joined me, along with the Nietzschean. He's now a respected member of my crew. The Commonwealth no longer exists, and so the Nietzscheans are no longer at war."  
Sandoz nodded uneasily. "His people destroyed my convoy, killed my crew. You'll forgive me if I'm a little...well, you know." Her full attention was on Dylan now.  
"Edgy?" Tyr put in. She stared at him. She said nothing for a while.  
"Yes," she said finally. Tyr gave her a slight nod. Dylan, then realizing that he had forgotten something, cleared his throat and stepped to Captain Sandoz's side.  
"Captain Kari Sandoz, this is Tyr, my tactical officer." Sandoz allowed a slight, quick smile to escape her lips and Tyr nodded in acknowledgment. At that moment, Beka walked into medical. Dylan motioned towards her. "This is my first officer, Beka Valentine. Beka, this is Captain Sandoz of the _Saratoga_." Beka walked up to Sandoz and they shook hands.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Beka said and Sandoz nodded in acknowledgment. She then turned to her other crew mates. Dylan saw worry on Sandoz's features.  
"How are they...uh...what's your name again?" she asked.  
"I'm Trance," she said, "And they should be find in the next couple hours."  
"In the meantime, Captain, I've had quarters prepared for you so you can stay and rest and perhaps even help us with something."  
Sandoz nodded. "I would be glad to do anything to help, Captain Hunt." He nodded.  
"Rommie," he said and Rommie put down her work that she was doing in front of crewman Jackson and walked to Dylan's side.  
"Yes," she asked.  
"Would you please show Captain Sandoz to her quarters?"  
"Of course," Rommie said. She motioned to Sandoz. "Right this way." Sandoz followed the android down the corridors of the ship.  
***  
"Captain Sandoz is sleeping in her quarters," Rommie reported to Dylan. He was back in his own quarters, looking at his picture of Sarah and him. "She seems better."  
"Well, lets just hope we can convince her to help us." Dylan looked up. "We need her." Dylan looked at Rommie. "You maybe a machine, Rommie, but I know you understand the importance of the Commonwealth to the galaxy." Rommie allowed a shy smile.  
"How could I denounce the organization that built me?" she said. Dylan smiled.  
"And how are her two other crewmates?" he asked.  
"Trance says they're getting better. They're recovering slowly." Rommie got an uneasy look on her face as she suddenly remembered something. Dylan eyed her curiously. "Sandoz has expressed interest in talking to them about leaving."  
Dylan swallowed. This could change everything. How could they restore the Commonwealth if Sandoz didn't stay. She could have helped them, made their mission easier. Another thought occured to him. "But how would she, with only two other crewmembers survive three hundered and fifty years after they disappeared?" he asked.  
Rommie swallowed and her eyes wandered around the room. Dylan kept his eye on her. "Rommie..." he asked.  
"Well, uh...um..." _Why won't she answer_ Dylan asked himself.  
"Rommie," he said. "What aren't you telling me?"  
Rommie swallowed again. "Captain Sandoz doesn't simply want to leave orbit, sir." She met his gaze again. "She wants to go back to her own time." Dylan stood up.  
"We don't know how to do that, Rommie," he said. "With Harper's device we can only send one person at a time to a ship ready to receive them in the past."  
"I know," Rommie said.  
"We don't know how to send an entire ship like the _Saratoga_ or the _Andromeda_ into the past." Then he looked at Rommie again. "You didn't mention anything to her, did you?"  
"No, Dylan. I didn't. I didn't say anything."  
"Good. I still want to try to convince her to help us."  
***  
In the _Andromeda_ briefing room, Dylan was sitting at the head of the long, opal shaped table. Rommie was standing next to him. Captain Sandoz sat next to Beka along with her engineer and crewmember who had recovered fully.  
"Captain Hunt, my crew and I would like to return to our time," Sandoz said. Rommie stepped forward as Dylan sat back in his chair. "But we don't know how," she continued. "We were hoping that you could help us."  
"Actually, Captain, we were hoping that you would stay with the _Andromeda_, help us with our mission," Dylan said.  
"And what is your mission?" her crewmember, Joseph Jackson asked.  
"We are attempting to restore the Commonwealth here, three hundred years after it fell," Rommie said. Jackson sat back, interested. Dylan leaned forward.  
"We have already had some people sign our charter to join, but we could use some help," Dylan continued. There was a short pause while Sandox thought. Finally she shook her head.  
"I'm sorry, Captain Hunt," she said. She met his steady gaze. "This isn't our time anymore. You may do what you wish here, but we need to go home."  
Her engineer, Todd Curtis spoke up. "I have to agree with my captain. We don't belong here. We could never survive in this time with a battle-worn ship and a skeleton crew of three."  
"But the _Andromeda_ would be able to help you with repairs to your ship," Dylan countered. He looked at Beka for help.  
"Our engineer could work with you, Mr. Curtis, to help get your ship underway," she said. Suddenly, everyone except Rommie and Captain Sandoz were talking at once, Dylan and Beka on one side, Curtis and Jackson on the other.  
Finally, Sandoz summoned for quiet, but nobody listened. "Excuse me..." she began. Suddenly, an alarm went off. Everyone stopped talking as Dylan got to his feet. As soon as everyone was quiet, the alarm stopped. Dylan looked around the room, then all eyes rested on Rommie.  
"Sorry, I thought it would help," she said. Sandoz nodded in her direction acknowledgingly.  
"Thank you, Andromeda." She turned back towards Dylan and Beka. "I think I can see the advantage of staying here. Back in our time, we would only be doomed to repeat the same sequence of events that led us into this situation." She turned towards Jackson and Curtis. "If we stay here, we have a chance to reshape history and help bring the known worlds back from chaos." Curtis and Jackson stared at their captain in disbelief. "I say we stay here."  
Dylan smiled as did Rommie, but Beka looked at Sandoz curiously. Why had she suddenly had this change of heart? Why did she suddenly want to stay?  
"Thank you, Captain Sandoz," Dylan said. "We're grateful that you want to stay and help." Sandoz nodded. "We'll have Harper help your engineer with the repairs to your ship."  
"Thank you, Captain," Sandoz answered. She stood up as did Curtis and Jackson. "If there is nothing more to discuss, my crew and I need to catch up on our history." Dylan nodded and the three left. Dylan and Beka stood and Rommie left. Dylan was almost out of the room when Beka stopped him.  
"Dylan." He turned to look at her. "Didn't her turn around seem odd to you?" Dylan kept staring at her, confused. "It seems odd to me that she would be so intent on traveling back to her own time, then she would just change her mind."  
"Look, Beka, she's willing to change her entire life to help us," Dylan objected.  
"But Dylan-"  
"What, Beka?" he interrupted her. "Tell me that I'm wrong in accepting her help when I went through all this troubel to get her to agree."  
"Dylan, I didn't say that," Beka said forcefully. "I just said that it seems as though not everything is the way you want it."  
"Ah, so I get it. Now you're making decisions about what I think and and how I feel, is that it, Beka?"  
Beka stood still and stared at her captain. "Dylan, why are you acting like this?" she asked. Dylan just turned to walk out of the room. The door swished open. "Dylan, I didn't mean it," she continued, but Dylan was already out the door.  
Meanwhile, Sandoz and her crew were walking down the hall towards her quarters. Curtis quickly walked up to her side.  
"How could we possibly survive in this time?" he asked.  
"I don't intend to help them," Sandoz said. Jackson walked up to Curtis' side.  
"What do you mean?" he asked. Sandoz stopped walking. She turned to Jackson.  
"You didn't see him, did you?" Her crewmembers shook their heads. "They have a Nietzschean as a crewmember."  
"A Nietzschean!" Curtis exclaimed.  
"Yes, and we don't have to help them to gain what we want," Sandoz said.  
"What do you have in mind?" Curtis asked.  
"Come with me and we'll start planning." Sandoz walked down the hall and Curits follwed right on her heals. Jackson stook in the middle of the hall for a few seconds, then followed.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

PART 2  
Seamus Harper, the _Andromeda_'s technical engineer hunched over the control pannel of the _Saratoga_. He smiled. "Well, Mr. Engineer guy, it looks like we've gotten the ship up to just about the way you wanted it, new modifications and all." Curtis looked up from his work.  
"Godd, and the name's Curtis." Harper looked his way.  
"Oh, right. Anyway, you wanna turn it on?" he said. Curtis nodded. Harper turned back to the contol pannel. "Okay, and away we go!" He heard Curtis turn on the ship and heard the engines roar. "Call me the God of Tech!" Harper announced. Suddenly, the engines crackled and shut down. Harper looked around the Command Center frantically.  
"What the hell happened?" Curtis yelled.  
"I don't know," Harper said. "I guess we blew a circut."  
"Where did _we _come into this, oh God of Tech?" Curtis snapped angrily. "I didn't attempt to fix it." Harper gave him a side glance.  
"Okay, sure. Sorry." Curtis turned back to his work station. Harper pressed buttons on a control pannel and turned to leave. "Looks like a problem with the engergy core. I'll go check it out." He walked out of the Command Center and Curtis kept working.  
As soon as Harper was out of the room, Curtis went to Harper's control station, recalibrated the communications and hailed his captain. In a few seconds, Sandoz was on the view screen. She was in her quarters.  
"What is it, Curtis?" she asked pleasantly.  
"The repairs are almost complete," he reported. "We should be ready to go tomorrow, or so the God of Tech tells me."  
"Good," Sandoz said with a smile.  
"How are we going to get him?" Curtis asked.  
"I'll take care of him," Sandoz said. "Don't worry about that. I've gotten some of his trust. Now all I have to do is break it." Curtis smiled at the very thought. "And how about your partner?" Sandoz continued. "Does he suspect anything?"  
Curtis shook his head. "He has no clue."  
***  
Dylan was walking down the hall, hours after the attempt with the _Saratoga_ had gone wrong. Harper came running up to him. "Hi ya Dylan," he said. "Can I talk to you?"  
"How are the repairs going?" Dylan asked.  
"Oh, my technical skills are basically the one's running the ship." Harper caught a glance of Dylan giving him a stern look telling him to keep going. "We're almost done."  
"How is your partner holding up?"  
"He's okay. He's somewhat helping me, but..." He paused, then he shrugged. "Oh who 'm I kidding, Dylan, this guy is driving me crazy. He's so arrogant and self-centered. I wonder why anyone would hire him as an engineer." Dylan stopped in the hallway.  
"Is he a bad engineer?" he asked.  
"No, he's just got some personality problems, shall we say."  
"Hm," Dylan said. "But you're almost done?"  
"Of course," Harper said. "Trust in Harper. Harper is good." Suddenly a voice came from behind him.  
"If Haper is so good, then how long are we going to be here?" Harper whirled around and there stood Captain Sandoz. Harper composed himself from the shock and met her gaze fully.  
"Your ship will be ready by the end of today," he said. Sandoz nodded.  
"Thank you, and sorry if I startled you."  
"Startled, me, no way!" Sandoz smiled and walked past the two men. Dylan and Harper stood in silence for a few minutes. "And her..."Harper began.  
"What about her?" Dylan asked quickly.  
"I don't know, I just don't trust her." Dylan faced him.  
"Why not?" he asked sternly.  
"I don't know. I mean she comes on board and she wants to help us but..." Harper sighed. "The situation doesn't seem, I don't know..."  
"Right?" Dylan said. Harper nodded.  
"I just don't feel comfortable around these guys." Dylan nodded.  
"Fair enough." He began to walk down the hall, then stopped. "Oh, and Harper, are you really going to have the _Saratoga_ up and running by the end of today?"  
Harper shifted his weight. "Trust me, baby. That ship will be working before then."  
Dylan smiled and continued to walk down the hall.  
***  
Tyr sat in the Command Center of the _Andromeda_ reading a book. Dylan had given it to him to "keep him busy." It was called _The Hunt for Red October_. Tyr had no idea really what it was about. All Dylan had been willing to tell him was that it took place during Earth's twentieth century inside a Russian submarine. Tyr had no idea what a submarine was and all he could pull together from the text was that the Russians and the...Americans didn't like each other. But still, it was full of adventure, death, heroism and danger. He liked it.  
The repairs to the _Saratoga_ were finished and the stuck up captain and her skeleton crew were ready leave. He was glad they were leaving. He didn't trust them. They were always looking at him strangely and hinting towards a fight whenever they came close to him. All except the crew-member named...oh what was it...Jackson or something like that. He wasn't as bad as his captain and engineer. The captain was trying to be nice, but Tyr wasn't buying it. He knew that beneath all the kindness and generocity she was showing was the hate towards him and all Nietzscheans. The only thing Tyr could find bad about the _Saratoga_ leaving was that Harper, the "Little Professor" as he like to call him, was going to be back in his face all the time. He wasn't really so bad, Tyr figured, but he could get really annoying when he wanted to.  
Tyr flipped the page and continued reading. Suddenly, he heard the door open behind him. He turned and looked quickly and saw Trance enter the room. She simply stood in the doorway, not moving a muscle. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at him.  
"You still afraid of me?" Tyr asked with a small smile. Then, Curtis and Sandoz came out from behind her and Tyr's smile faded. Tyr cocked his eye-brow.  
"No, my Nietzschean friend," Curtis said. "She's afraid of me." Then Tyr noticed the gun which was pointing at him in Sandoz's hand and the one in Curtis's pointing at Trance. Sandoz looked at her.  
"Thank you, Trance Gemini. You've been most helpful." Sandoz said.  
"I'm sorry, Tyr," Trance said, her eyes glistening with unshead tears of fear and regret. Tyr's gaze rested on her.  
"For what?" He began to walk towards the trio, but Sandoz fired her gun, catching him completely off guard. Tyr was shocked by the blast and for a second stood unsteadily on his feat. He heard Trance scream and he saw her running to him. Then, his world went black as he fell to the floor.  
***  
"It's good to have some new recruits to help us with restoring the Commonwealth," Dylan said as he shook Sandoz's hand. She and her crew were going to depart from the _Andromeda_ as soon as possible. They were ready to get underway. Thanks to Harper's technical skills, the _Saratoga_ was working just as promised, better than before.  
"Thank you for allowing us to join you in your quest, Captain Dylan Hunt," Sandoz said. She pulled her hand away and turned to Beka. "Commander Valentine," she said, nodding her head in acknowledgment.  
"Captain," Beka said back, nodding as well. "I'm only sorry Trance isn't here," she said.  
"I saw her in the hallway not long ago," Sandoz said. "She and I said good-bye then."  
"Oh, well then, that's good," Beka said. Sandoz then turned uneasily toward Rev. She stared at him for a second, reminding herself that this Magog was not the blood thirsty savage as all of them were.  
"Thank you, Rev Bem," she said finally after collecting herself. She held out her hand and Rev took it. "You've been most hospitable."  
"You're too kind," Rev said, staring evenly back at her. Sandoz pulled her hand away quickly. Meanwhile, Dylan was looking among his crew that was gathered in front of the docking bay.  
"I wonder where Tyr is," he said. Beka looked at him.  
"Yeah, and Harper," she continued. Sandoz looked back at them.  
"Under the surcumstances, I didn't expect Tyr to show up," she said. Dylan nodded.  
"And I think that Harper locked himself in that other ship." Curtis said.  
"The Maru?" Beka asked. Curtis nodded. Beka looked at Dylan and gave him a wink. "Please tell me he's not working on another android."  
"Probably not," Dylan said, turning back to Sandoz. "Anyway, thank you for joining us, Captain. We are grateful."  
"You're welcome, Captain, but we really should get started," Sandoz said.  
"Of course, Captain." Dylan soluted her and she returned the gesture. "Be sure to tell us when another planet has agreed to sign the Commonwealth charter."  
"We will," Sandoz said. She smiled at Dylan and walked towards the docking ramp that led to the _Saratoga_. Beka went searching for Trance.  
***  
"Trance?" Beka said, trying to shake her friend awake. So far it wasn't working. Beka shooke her harder. "Trance!" Suddenly, Trance's eyes opened and she started talking deleriously.  
"Tyr...what happened?" Then she saw Beka and her eyes widened. "Beka, they took him."  
"Wait Trance, slow down." Beka sat down next to her. "Now, who took who?"  
"The _Saratoga _crew. They took Tyr." Beka cocked an eye-brow at her.  
"Why would they want to do that?" she asked.  
"I don't know exactly," Trance began. She sat up a little more and then discovered that she was in medical. "The captain said something about avenging her crew."  
Beka's breath caught. If what Trance was saying was true, Tyr could be in serious danger. She knew there was something about that crew she didn't like.  
"We have to tell Dylan," she said. Trance nodded in agreement. "Andromeda!" The hologram materialized in front of Trance's medical bed.  
"Yes, Beka?" she said.  
"Tell Dylan to meet Trance and I in the briefing room immediatly."  
"Of course," Andromeda said. She dematerialized. Beka helped Trance off the bed and they walked out of the medical bay.  
***  
Tyr's eyes fluttered open. His vision was blurred and the room he was in was pitch black. He tried to move his head, but he realized he couldn't. He felt a cold, metal strip holding his head onto what felt like a seat back. He then tried to move his hands and feet, but shackles held his wrists and ankles. He looked around the room and tried to take inventory on where he was.  
Suddenly, high powered beams of white light shone directly on the chair where he was. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the glare. As soon as his eyes had somewhat become used to it, he opened them fully. He could see the faint outline of a doorway in front of him. He could also see the black outlines of two humanoids, he could not see who they were through the glare. One approached him.  
"Well," Curtis said. "How does it feel to be bound and helpless?" He came right up to Tyr and stared into his face. "Try to kill me now, Nietzschean."  
Tyr growled at him. "Why have you done this?" he asked.  
Curtis smiled and began to circle around Tyr. "You don't know?" Tyr shook his head. "Before we got trapped in time, your species obliterated our convoy, destoyed over 1,000 lives. Are you telling me your people don't speak triumphantly of this massacre?"  
"No," Tyr fired back. "I've never heard of your ship." Curtis returned to his original spot in front of Tyr. "But why?"  
"To show you that we humans are superior to you Nietzscheans. To show you that we are the ones who know how to kill. To punish you for destroying 1,000 human lives!" Curtis was now staring straight into Tyr's eyes. The Nietzschean spat at Curtis' feet.  
"If you're not afraid of me and if your any bit of a man, release me. Do what you want with me and we'll see who's superior to whom." Curtis smacked Tyr on the cheek. Tyr growled again and struggled against his restraints. Curtis held up an information pad so Tyr could see it.  
"Do you know what this is?" Tyr shook his head as best he could. "With this device, I could kill you in a second." Tyr simply stared at him. Curtis raised both his eye brows. "Do you want a demonstration?" Without waiting for his answer, Curtis pressed a button on the pad and an electric stock ran through the chair. Tyr's eyes widened and his breath caught. He clamped his teeth together, refusing to scream in pain. He would not let Curtis get that kind of pleasure from him.  
Finally, after a few seconds, Curtis let go of the button and the pain streaming through Tyr's body stopped. He let out his breath and unclamped his teeth. Curtis smiled as Captain Sandoz came up to his side. "And that's only the beginning, Nietzschean," she said.  
"I'll get you to scream out for mercy sometime," Curtis continued.  
"Don't count on it," Tyr spat. Curtis smiled and he and his captain walked out of the chamber. They turned off the lights and left Tyr in the silent black.  
***  
"Are you sure you think that's why they took him?" Dylan asked Beka in the briefing room of the _Andromeda_. He, Beka and Trance had met in the room right after Trance had told Beka about Tyr's kidnapping. Beka shrugged at her captain's question.  
"I don't know, Dylan, but from what Trance has told me, it sure sounds that way." Dylan began to pace in front of the head of the opal shapped table.  
"It's my fault," he said. Beka cocked and eye brow at him and Trance sat back in her seat. "If I hadn't trusted her as much..."  
"Don't blame yourself," Trance said.  
"Yeah, Dylan," Beka said. "They put on a good show for us, made us give them our trust. Anyone would have been fooled."  
Dylan stood in front of his chair and finally looked at Beka.  
"Beka, find out what course the _Saratoga_ took." Beka looked at him and cocked her head. "We're going after them."  
Beka nodded and she and Trance left the room. Dylan stood in front of the table for a while. "How could I let it happen?" he asked himself.  



	3. Chapter 3

PART 3  
Beka, having over heard Dylan's remark to himself began to run down the hallway. Trance looked after her. "Beka!" she yelled. "Where are you going, the main sensers are down this way."  
"I have to find Rev," Beka called over her shoulder.  
"But why?" Trance called. "What's wrong?" Beka stopped in the hallway.  
"Nothing, Trance. Go to the sensors and I'll meet you there soon." Trance nodded reluctantly and headed in the opposite direction. Beka began walking again. "Andromeda!"  
"Yes, Beka," the A.I. called over the com.  
"Locate Rev Bem." There was a short silence.  
"Rev Bem is in the hydropinics bay." As soon as Beka heard those words, she darted as fast as she could go down the corridor toward the hydropinics bay.  
***  
Dylan sat in his quarters, waiting to hear word from Trance and Beka. He had been waiting for over an hour and he was becoming restless.  
He felt exactly as he had when Harper had told him about the fall of the Commonwealth many months ago. He felt...responsible. Asthough because of his ignorance and blindness to the truth, Tyr was gone. How could he let it happen? How had he not seen through the thin guises of the _Saratoga_ crew and especially that of Captain Sandoz? She had seemed a little too nice for Beka's taste and she had warned him that all was not right. Even Harper had done so. So why had he not listened? Why did he had to be so stubborn?  
He was startled when the bell to the door of his quarters rang. He sat up fully. "Come in," he called. The door opened and Rev Bem walked in. "Rev," Dylan said. "What can I do for you?"  
"Trance and Beka have traced the _Saratoga_'s course. They wanted me to inform you." Dylan stood and breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Thank you, Rev," he said. He was just about to walk past when the Magog took his arm.  
"Dylan, I am not only here to inform you of their progress." Dylan stopped and eyed Rev. Rev met his gaze. "Beka sent me here because she told me you were troubled."  
Dylan shook his head. "How does she do it?" he asked.  
"Beka has a very...unique talent at knowing how most people feel," Rev said. He began to walk closer to Dylan's desk. "She told me that you reguard Tyr's kidnapping as your fault."  
Dylan turned to him. "It is my fault, Rev. If I had only seen through Captain Sandoz's kindness and hadn't asked her to help us, none of this would have happened."  
"I do not think that is so," Rev said. Dylan crossed his arms, prepared for a lecture. Rev turned to Dylan. "If Tyr had not seen that the _Saratoga_ crew was false, then why should you have done so? He is the best detector of lies on this ship, yet he was fooled. The only mistake you made, Dylan, was that you gave your trust too readily. Just because they were of the Commonwealth, didn't mean that they could not give in to anger and commit aggression." Dylan nodded, but said nothing, knowing that Rev was not finished.  
"They captured Tyr because they thought they were doing the right thing. They were too proud to let their men die without vengence. You, as a Commonwealth officer, know that there is always an alternative to achieve what you want, that there is never only one way out. So Dylan, in the confrontation ahead, look for openings, those alternatives to death and, if we do not succeed in our mission to rescue Tyr without sheding blood, do not blame yourself, for no one is to blame."  
After Rev was finished there was a short pause. Dylan was amazed. Rev was the best giver of advice that he knew. He knew he would have to thank both Rev and Beka for pulling them though when all this was over. For now he smiled at Rev.  
"Thanks for the advice, Rev." Rev smiled as well, showing his sharp Magog teeth.  
"It's what I do."  
"Come on, let's go and find the _Saratoga_." Dylan and Rev walked to the Command Center to meet Beka and Trance for the rescue.  
***  
Todd Curtis was walking toward the Command Center of the _Saratoga_. He was very happy and full of pride. He had just made the Nietzschean from the _Andromeda_ fall to his knees in pain.  
He was wallowing in his glory when Jackson came running up to him. "I saw what you did today," he said. Curtis turned his head to him and smiled.  
"Did you like it?" he asked. Jackson didn't answer. Curtis stopped walking and turned fully to Jackson. "Joe, I made the Nietzschean beg for mercy. We're draining his life force and he knows it."  
"Curtis, don't you ever feel that, well..."  
"Well what?" Curtis asked. "You're not having second thoughts about killing him to avenge our men?" Jackson said nothing. Curtis put his hand on Jackson't shoulder. "We know that our men did not die in vain. It's time everyone else remembered them with the sacrifice of simply one Nietzschean. What will one Nietzschean matter when we lost 1,000 of our people? No one's going to cry over his death."  
"Well..." Jackson began but Curtis slapped him on the back.  
"I knew you'd come around again," he said. Curtis continued down the hall and Jackson watched him go.  
***  
Captain Sandoz stood in front of Tyr in the torcher chamber. She held the information pad in her hand. "Are you prepared to scream our for mercy, Tyr?"  
Tyr swallowed hard as sweat rolled into his eye. She had already sent the electric shock shooting through his body twice. He felt as though he could not take it anymore. "You'll get no such pleasure from me," he spat in a weak voice. Sandoz smiled.  
"If you'll give me no such pleasure," she began, but paused. Tyr stared at her waiting for her conclusion. Suddenly, Sandoz dropped the pad. "You're free to go."  
Tyr's eyes sharpened. Mixed thoughts were running through his mind. He would have never anticipated this. If this captain wanted him dead, then why would she be willing to let him go? If this was a trap, why did she believe he would fall right into it? Tyr simply sat and stared at her. She looked at him. "No?" she asked. "You don't believe me, do you?" Tyr diverted his eyes from her gaze. "Why not?" she asked.  
"First, you want to kill me, next you want to free me." Tyr looked at her again. "How stupid do you think I am?"  
"That's not how a Nietzschean would react to that request." Sandoz said coaxingly.  
"Really?" Tyr said.  
"The Nietzscheans I know would have broke the shackles and been at my throat right now." She picked up the pad again and held it up. "If you won't take my offer, then die where you are."  
She pressed the button on the pad and Tyr felt the shock run through his body. But Tyr found that instead of making him weak, the pulse was giving him internal strength. "Well, Nietzschean, what are you going to do?" Sandoz taunted. She did not see the shackles becoming lose on his wrists and ankles. Tyr pulled on his Nietzschean roots and his strength returned.  
The shackles snapped like twigs. He bound toward Sandoz quick as lightning and held her throat in his hand. A surprised look came over her face as she tried to take in air. Tyr stared at her with a crazed look in his eyes. "Now you'll give me the pleasure of killing you." he said. She gave him a quizzical look. "All I have to do is squeeze." He tightened his grip on her throat and her eyes widened.  
Tyr was ready to close his fist when he remembered what Dylan had said to him and the crew of the _Eurika Maru_ before they all became shipmates. He had said, "I won't kill a man in cold blood, no matter what he's done to me." Remembering this, Tyr hesitated. He then took his hand away.  
Captain Sandoz brought her hand to her throat and took deep breaths. She looked at Tyr sharply, but before she could say anything, Curtis called her over the comlink. "Captain," he said.  
"Yes Curtis, what's up?" she asked.  
"I think you'd better come up to the Command Center." Curtis was in disbelief. "_Someone _wants to talk to you."  
Sandoz looked up at Tyr, now breathing normally. She pointed a finger at him. "When I get through with you, Nietzschean, Captain Dylan Hunt won't be able to find your bits and pieces." Tyr stood his ground. Sandoz turned around quickly and walked out of the room, leaving Tyr in darkness yet again.  
As she left, Tyr was debating with himself on why he didn't kill her. _Why didn't I do it?_ he thought to himself.  
***  
When Sandoz got to the Command Center, she stopped at the door. She was surprised to see Dylan's face on the communication's screen. Getting over her surprise, Sandoz began to walk to the middle of the room. "Captain," she said. "What an unexpected pleasure."  
"You have one of my crew," Dylan said. Sandoz lifted an eye brow and smiled nonchalantly. "We want him back."  
"Dylan Hunt, have you gone crazy?" Sandoz said. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Suddenly Trance stepped next to Dylan and Sandoz's expression turned sour.  
"I think you do, Captain," Dylan said. Sandoz swallowed hard.  
"So what do you intend to do about it?" she asked. Trance moved out of the picture and Dylan stepped forward.  
"Either you turn over Tyr right now, or we'll take him back by force. You have ten minutes. Hunt out." The transmission ended.  
Sandoz stared at the blank screen. "He's bluffing," she said. Curtis looked at her.  
"How can you be sure?" he asked. Sandoz stayed where she was.  
"He wouldn't kill his own crew memeber." She turned. "Let alone his own people."  
Curtis considered this and nodded uncertainly. "Perhaps, but he's still from a different time period than us." Sandoz turned and walked towards him. "He may be very unpredictable."  
Sandoz began to walk toward's the door. "All the same, we're not giving that Nietzschean up if it kills us." She was about to exit when she hesitated and turned back to her engineer. "Better that than having him live." Curtis smiled his agreement.  
"Yes, ma'am," he said.  
"Monitor them and tell me if Dylan wants to 'talk' again." She opened the door to the Command Center. "I'll be in my quarters." She walked out of the room.  
***  
Dylan was waiting as the _Saratoga_'s ten minutes were running out. Beka was standing at the first officer's station. She began to shake her head. "I don't think they're going to do it," she said certainly.  
"Let's just give them a couple more seconds," Dylan said. Beka shifted her weight as she waited.  
Another whole minute passed and Dylan nodded his head. "Beka, get Harper and tell him he's going to get Tyr."  
"Why Harper?" Beka asked. "He and Tyr are not exactly the best of friends."  
"Just tell him to be ready." Beka nodded and walked out of the Command Center. Dylan turned to Trance. "Trance."  
"Yes, sir?" she said turning to him.  
"You and Rev get medical ready. Tyr might be hurt pretty badly."  
"Yes, sir." Trance pressed the com button on her station. "Rev meet me in medical." She then walked out of the room and Dylan was left alone.  
Suddenly, Harper's voice came over the com link. "Hey Dylan, can I ask you something?" he said. Dylan rolled his eyes.  
"Go ahead, Harper," he said.  
"Uh, I was just thinking, ya know, I'm not saying I don't want to but, why me?" Dylan smiled to himself. "I mean, why not Beka or Trance?"  
"Because I need them here," Dylan responded.  
"Oh, I get it, so I'm expendable now?" Harper was known as the whiner on the _Andromeda_ for a reason, Dylan thought to himself.  
"No Harper, I didn't mean that."  
"So why do I have to go?"  
"Because I want you to go and I believe that you can get him out of there." Dylan waited for Harper's response.  
"Alright, I guess you're right. What am I saying, of course you're right."  
"Good." Dylan sat in the pilot's seat. "Beka."  
"Yeah Dylan?" Beka called over the com link.  
"Get a stealth fighter ready for launch. If he goes in that, he'll be able to take a few hits."  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Harper said. "Now there's going to be shooting involved?"  
"Yes," Dylan continued. "You're going to have to get in and get out as fast as you can. Get ready."  
"Alright, boss," Harper signed off the link and Dylan leaned back in the pilot seat, preparing for the battle ahead.  
***  
As Harper flew toward the _Saratoga_ his stomach was turning upside down. He had never been on a rescue mission, let alone been the one to carry it out.  
He watched the battle going on around him. The _Saratoga_ had been damaged enough, but the _Andromeda_ had also taken some nasty hits. He was almost there.  
Dylan's voice came over the com link. "Harper, we've knocked out their sensors, you should be able to dock safely."  
"And away we go," he said. "Harper saves the world, take one!" He heard Dylan laugh.  
"We'll see about that. Hunt out." The com link was severed.  
Harper manually opened the _Saratoga_'s hangar bay doors and landed his shuttle safely. As he opened the hatch he heard an alarm sound.  
"Oh crap!" he said to himself. He pulled out his com link again. "Ah Dylan, I've got a little problem over here."  
"I know, Harper. We'll try to give you some time." Dylan sounded a little too confident. "Just go in, get Tyr and get out."  
"But what if they catch me?"  
"Improvise," Dylan answered and he turned off the link.  
"Easier said than done," Harper said as he turned off his link. He headed down the hall, looking for any sign of Tyr.  
After several minutes, he came across a hallway that split off into two different directions. Harper held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, I give." He grabbed the com link. "I might as well just gamma weald this thing to my hand," he said to himself. "Ah Dylan, two one way streets, different directions. Where do I go?"  
"As far as I can tell," Andromeda said over the link. "Go right."  
"You always come through for me, Rommie," Harper said. Before she could respond, he severed the link and took the right hallway. Soon he came to the only door. It was black and short, not like the ones on the _Andromeda_ at all. When he tried to go into the room, the door wouldn't open. "Oh, this is good." He began looking for a manual release. Finding one, he forced the door open.  
A figure was standing at the ready with a retracted forcelance in his hand. It was ponting directly at Harper. As soon as he entered the room, the figure began to shoot.  
"Whoa!" Harper yelled, diving to the floor, gripping his own forcelance and looing for a place to hide at the same time. Just as he got control of himself, the figure stopped shooting.  
"Who's there?" he heared Tyr call out of the black. Harper rolled his eyes.  
"So first you shoot at me, then you want to know my name?" he called back. Doesn't it usually work the other way around?"  
"Oh, it's only you," Tyr said walking into the light. Harper stood up.  
"What, I'm not an atequate rescue party?" Harper sounded amazed. Tyr turned toward then door.  
"I've had better," he said. He turned down the hallway.  
"After you," Harper said, following Tyr. He didn't go very far before he bumped into a stalk-still Tyr. Todd Curtis stood in their path, a forcelance pointing at Tyr. "Uh, excuse me," Harper said calmly. "You're kinda in our way." Curtis smiled.  
"You make a better camedion than you do a rescuer, Mr. Harper." Curtis said.  
"Hey, it wasn't even..." Harper began, but Curtis trained the gun toward him. Harper held up his in surrender. "Yeah, okay, that's cool." Curtis retrained the gun on Tyr.  
"This is good," he said. "Now I'll get the recognition from Kari for killing him and taking you hostiage."  
Suddenly he heard a forcelance charge from behind his head. He turned halfway, but was stopped. "I don't think so, Todd," Jackson said. Harper and Tyr eyed Jackson suspiciously, ready for him to turn the gun on them, but he didn't. Instead, he had Curtis lower his own weapon and he moved him out of the way. "You two," he said to Harper and Tyr. "Go before the captain catches you."  
"Joe, why are you doing this?" Curtis asked.  
"Why should this Nietzschean have to pay for the lives of people he didn't know? We don't have the right to take the law into our own hands." He looked at Harper and Tyr. "You two had better go before I change my mind." So Tyr and Harper ran down the corridor to the shuttle bay.  
***  
"Awe man, did we make a smooth get-away or what!" Harper exclaimed once he and Tyr were in the shuttle. He glanced at Tyr and his smile faded. Tyr was tense. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.  
"It was smooth," Tyr said. Harper knew there was a but coming. "But it was far too easy."  
As if on cue, the shuttle craft shot forward toward the _Andromeda_. The craft came close to colliding with the hull, but stopped dead. At the end of the sudden blast of power, Tyr was calm, but Harper sat as close to his seat back as he could get. "Whoa," he said. "What just happened?" Tyr took one look at his fearful, wide blue eyes and laughed.  
"Don't worry boy, I'm sure we're alright." But an alarm sounded and Tyr's smile faded. "Critcal reaction in engine three," the computer said. Harper bolted out of his seat and went to the engineer's station. The alarm continued as Tyr went to the weapon's station.  
"What the hell's going on, Mr. Harper?" Tyr yelled.  
"Someone injected protons into our reserve AP tanks," Harper said. "That's what gave us that big sudden burst of power. We should be okay, but..."   
"But what?" Tyr asked.  
"But we've only got about thrity-five seconds to get off the shuttle before it explodes." Tyr and Harper stared at each other for a few silent seconds until Tyr went into action.  
"Alright, so we'll fly into the docking bay and then send the ship off with a little tap once we're safely on the _Andromeda_." Harper was already shaking his head.  
"No can do, buddy," he said. "The engines are fried. There's no way we can get this ship closer, let alone get off it." There was another short silence as Harper thought.  
"30 seconds 'til core implosion," the computer said. Then Harper got an amazed look on his face. He frantically began pressing buttons. Tyr walked up to him, bemused.  
"What are you doing?" he demanded. Harper didn't answer. Finally the computer gave him the answer he wanted.  
"Good." He walked down the small corridor of the shuttle, urging Tyr to follow him. "Every Commonwealth ship, no matter how small has escape pods. We can get in the shuttle's and get on the _Andromeda_ from there." Then he got an uncomfortable look on his face. "Only problem is, the shuttle's only got one."  
"I'll take it," Tyr said. He opened the hatch to the pod and climbed inside. Then he unexpectedly urged Harper to get in also.  
"20 seconds 'til core implosion."  
"Okay," Harper said. He climbed in as fast as he could, trying not to step all over Tyr in the process with little success. As soon as they were both inside, Tyr closed the hatch and the escape pod detatched and went scrambling into _Andromeda_'s shuttle bay. From there, Harper and Tyr watched their shuttle explode. Harper took out his com link.  
"Dylan," he said. "I've got him."  
"Good work, Mr. Harper," Dylan acknowledged. "Tyr, are you hurt?"  
"A little battered and bruised, but nothing more." Tyr glared at Harper.  
"Why don't you get to medical, and welcome back." Harper turned off the link.  
"I believe you know the way to medical," he said to Tyr. He nodded and walked out of the shuttle bay. Harper just stood next the escape pod for a few seconds.  
"Woo hoo!" he yelled. "Boom baby!" He began bowing and acknowledging a fake audience. "Thank you, thank you, it was nothing!"  
***  
Dylan stood in the Commmand Center with Beka. "Well, Harper pulled it off," he said.  
"I never doubted him," Beka said. He looked at her. "Well I didn't." He kept his gaze on her. She finally let out a sigh. "Okay, I was scheptical, I'll admit, but I never seriously doubted him." Dylan smiled and turned away. "Dylan," Beka said. "The _Saratoga_ is hailing."  
"Put it on screen," he said. Sandoz appeared on the viewing screen.  
"Well Captain, I must say, a very cunning rescue. I commend you on your victory." She bowed slightly. "If it hadn't been for crewman Jackson's sudden change of mind, you would have gotten away with it."  
"You're still not going to help us, are you?" Dylan said. She smiled.  
"You're right, Captain. I think you're wasting your time. You'll never get fiftly worlds to agree to a restored Commonwealth. And I don't think that I need that failiure under my belt. So good-bye, captain. I hope to see you soon." The transmission ended. The _Saratoga_ turned hard 180 and vanished into slipstream.  
"They're gone," Beka said.  
***  
Hours later, Tyr stood on the observation deck of the _Andromeda_, holding the book he was reading before and clenching his fist. He was staring into a type three nebula: a purple, blue and green cloud of gas, light and stars. As Dylan walked up beside the Nietzschean he didn't quite know what to say. Should he apologize for getting him captured, ask him what had happened or what he thought of Harper's rescue? What do you say to a Nietzschean who has just had his pride almost completely shattered?  
"You know," Tyr began. "In the book, Ryan tried to convince the Russians and his own government that he was right about the captain." Tyr turned toward Dylan and leaned against the railing. "And yet the other submarine attacked, and was destroyed."  
"And you're point is?" Dylan asked, trying his best not to sound rude.  
"My point is, you came after me, even though you might have been destroyed. You, Captain Hunt, were trying to convince your crew that it was the right thing to rescue me..." Dylan was already shaking his head.  
"But you see, Tyr, that's where you're wrong." Tyr cocked his head.  
"What do you mean?" he asked. Dylan advanced on him.  
"I didn't have to convince them of anything. They know we need you as a crewmember to operate correctly. They know you're important to us, and you complete this crew. They're the one's who convinced me to get you back, because I was in doubt."  
"But you risked your life and the lives of everyone else simply to save me," Tyr continued.  
"You would have done the same for me," Dylan said. Tyr walked up to him and was about to pass and stopped. He leaned towards Dylan's ear.  
"Perhaps," he said. "Don't assume too much, Dylan." He shoved the book into Dylan's chest and walked out of the deck. Dylan went to the railing overlooking the nebula. He knew he still had much to learn about this new time, and the people in it.  
  
THE END  



End file.
